Sonny Rollins
Tenor Sax Solo on
Wagon Wheels

About

Sonny Rollins's tenor sax solo is the first of three solos on this recording. Spanning three choruses of the 44-bar AABAC form in E♭ at a moderate 125 BPM with a swing feel, continuing the Western motif of Way Out West, Sonny Rollins takes on Peter DeRose's 1934 cowboy song "Wagon Wheels" with the same irreverent wit he brought to "I'm an Old Cowhand." The 44-bar AABAC form is one of the more unusual structures on the album, and Rollins navigates its contours across three inventive choruses at a medium-swing tempo. Sonny Rollins was 26 to 27 years old at the time of this recording.

Sonny Rollins was 26 to 27 years old at the time.